After U.S. equities recovered from session lows as investors awaited Friday’s monthly jobs data and more potential cues regarding the future of interest rates, the S&P 500 closed marginally lower.
A day after a report that showed U.S. private payrolls expanded less than anticipated in September, early claims data for state unemployment benefits in the United States indicated that the labour market was still resilient.
The most significant economic data of the week was predicted to be Friday’s monthly payrolls report, which will help determine whether the Federal Reserve will keep interest rates higher for longer.
Benchmark Treasury yields in the US decreased. They reached their greatest point since 2007 earlier this week.
The S&P 500, which is currently hovering around 4,206, was staying above its 200-day moving average as the market closed well off of its session lows, experts said.
According to Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Spartan Capital Securities in New York, “it appears that we are trying to hold here, and the reason is probably because yields have somewhat decreased, and perhaps these comments by Mary Daly may have also helped a little bit.”
President of the San Francisco Fed Bank Mary Daly stated at the Economic Club of New York that the recent increase in U.S. Treasury yields and the fact that U.S. monetary policy is “well into” restrictive zone suggest that the Fed may not need to hike rates any further.
The S&P 500 dropped 5.40 points, or 0.13%, to end at 4,258.35 points, while the Nasdaq Composite dropped 16.18 points, or 0.12%, to 13,219.06 points, according to preliminary statistics. To reach 33,110.63, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 18.92 points, or 0.06%.
Stocks fell, including Clorox, as the manufacturer of cleaning supplies predicted a deficit for the first quarter.
Additionally, as the company’s sales projection indicated that an AI boost would take longer to materialise, shares of Dell Technologies fell.